SS&C Blog

In the age of data, sales teams shouldn’t knock on every door

Wednesday, February 14, 2018 | By Jason Dauwen

In the 1940s, when mutual fund distribution teams were being built to handle a growing mutual fund market, office communication technology didn’t even include the Rolodex, let alone computers, mobile phones, video conferencing, or the Internet.

It was smart business then, and for decades to follow, to establish territories based on geographies and position a sales person in that territory to knock on every door.

Today, data exists that when analyzed can provide incredible insights about advisors – insights that can help to eliminate much of the door knocking, to streamline the path to achieving sales expectations, and to better align sellers and buyers.

There is no longer an excuse not to use this data when defining sales territories and determining the right sales prospects and targets.

As hundreds of billions in assets flow out of active mutual funds and ETFs and flow into passive mutual funds and ETFs, competition to sell mutual funds and ETFs to advisors is increasing.

While most asset manager sales teams are guessing about who their best targets are, Business Intelligence (BI) leaders know which advisors will buy their products, how much they could buy, and when they’re likely to buy them.

So what are asset managers with leading BI programs doing differently than their competitors? They are:

Giving BI leaders a place at the table, where those leaders can help influence the strategic direction of the firm.

They are structuring BI teams to be more efficient and to focus on their core competencies.

They are outsourcing anything done in BI that does not yield a competitive advantage.

These leading firms are able to design territories beginning with data rather than geography to better understand how advisors should be engaged to optimize sales efforts.

The advent of data analytics in the form of optimized Business Intelligence will be a pivotal decision point for asset managers who want to have more than a basic understanding of their sales opportunities.